Top 3 IoT Security Challenges

An Overview of Internet of Things (IoT) Devices

While you may not know the term “Internet of Things” (IoT), chances are you interact with an IoT cloud platform every day. (If you own a smartphone, you’ve used an IoT device!) IoT technology is a common term that’s used to describe the many internet-enabled tools that allow a person to form remote connections with other internet-enabled products and control them.
With the ever-increasing amount of IoT devices infiltrating our professional lives, it’s important to understand the unique security challenges associated with IoT cloud platforms, so we can effectively protect sensitive and proprietary information.

The Top 3 IoT Security Challenges

IoT has only been a true buzzword in the past 8 years or so. As organizations continuously try to update their technologies, IoT becomes increasingly more intertwined and developing structured security protocols is important. Based on our extensive experience helping organizations adapt their security protocols to include IoTs, we’ve outlined the top 3 IoT security challenges that businesses face today.

1. IoT devices have Operating Systems (OS) that need to be regularly patched –The majority of users don’t realize that, in order to maintain the security of their IoT devices, their software needs to be updated, or patched every few months. If software remains unpatched, it becomes a security weakness that can easily be hacked into.
2. When IoTs are lost or stolen they can still connect to the internet – Unfortunately, the hardware of most IoT devices, like drones, isn’t very safe from a cybersecurity perspective. If someone had bad intentions gets access to an IoT, the probability that they’ll be able to control the device is high.
3. When the security of IoT cloud platforms is compromised, PII data could be stoled –If an IoT device is hacked, there is a significant chance that some sort of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) will be stolen. This type of data can be used in all sorts of malicious ways, like identify theft and fraud, and can even be used to break into your home.

4. How to Protect Your IoT Cloud Platforms

5. Performing regular risk assessments is the best way to prevent an IoT hacking attempt. Include the risks of IoTs in any security assessments that are performed, and develop and adopt minimum standards of security surrounding IoT devices. If the security of an IoT device does not meet the standards of your organization or its industry, replace it immediately.We’re hoping to see the creators of IoT cloud platforms take the lead on developing security benchmarks for their devices, so businesses can feel more comfortable with out-of-the-box protection. However, that’s currently not the case so, for now, it’s up to users to do their due diligence and stay on top of updates and patches.

If you have questions concerning the internet security of your organization fill in the form below or are interested in our full suite of cybersecurity services, please contact us online, or give us a call at (609) 520 1188.